CARY DUI UNIT ARMED WITH PROOF

Sheridan Chaney, Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Drunken drivers can be easy to spot but hard to convict in a jury trial, according to veteran police officers.

Cary Police Chief Robert Levitt has seen it happen: drunk and incoherent at the scene of the arrest, driver becomes a model citizen in court. Sober and neatly dressed, the accused doesn't look anything like the offender described by the officer. That appearance, and the guilty consciences of some jurors, meant some drunken drivers walked.

"It used to be hard to find 12 people who had never driven a vehicle after they'd been drinking and juries were reluctant to find people guilty," Levitt said.

Although that sympathetic attitude has hardened over the years, the Cary Police Department has a way to make appearances work in favor of the prosecution. The department this week commissioned its new DUI enforcement unit, a squad car equipped with a video camera to catch the suspect's actions on tape.

The department was one of 10 to receive a free $5,000 set-up of the device from the Illinois Department of Training.

When the night shift rolls around, the DUI enforcement unit hits the streets. The enforcement officer can record the driver weaving in and out of a lane, crossing the center line or incorrectly negotiating a turn and hitting the curb. Those types of traffic infractions give the officer probable cause to stop the driver.

A wireless microphone clipped to the DUI enforcement officer's belt picks up the verbal exchange, which includes a warning that the driver is being videotaped. The camera rolls as the officer conducts roadside sobriety tests and questions suspects about the amount of alcohol they've consumed.

That caught-on-tape evidence makes a compelling case, according to Levitt. Some defendants have argued in court that they were physically incapable of passing the roadside sobriety tests. Typically, drunken-driving suspects are asked to walk heel-to-toe across a straight line, touch their nose with their eyes closed or recite the alphabet. Others have claimed their clumsiness was caused by over-the-counter cold and flu medication, Levitt said.

"Mainly it comes down to the officer's word against the offender's word," he explained. "But with this evidence, it's very plain to the jury."

Residents are invited to inspect the DUI enforcement unit and take tours of the Cary Police Department Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Unclaimed bicycles and seized vehicles will be up for auction. Officer Dennis Keys will be videotaping children up to age 16 as part of the local CrimeStoppers Video ID program. The 10-minute video is "basically a moving mug shot of the child," Keyes said.

The kids will be asked to stand in front of a wall height chart and answer simple questions. "So, God forbid, if something does happen we can make a voice identification of the child," said Keys.